


nighttime visitor

by langoor



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Post-Episode: s03 Chat Blanc, no reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:13:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29846169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/langoor/pseuds/langoor
Summary: During a sleepover, Adrien watches Marinette wake up from a nightmare about Chat Noir. Coincidentally, Chat Noir shows up to Marinette's balcony later that night wondering why she's afraid of him.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 2
Kudos: 128





	nighttime visitor

**Author's Note:**

> This story is based on a comic by yannasketches on tumblr: https://yannasketches.tumblr.com/post/642106497075232768/nightmare

It was only until after her friends had left that Marinette could take a second to reflect on her dream.

It was already slightly suspicious that she had been having a nightmare about Chat Noir. He was a hero of Paris – there was nothing to fear. She almost regretted telling Adrien about her subconscious fear, since he seemed deeply concerned after the fact. The silver lining to the situation, though, was that in her half-awake state, she hadn’t had the chance to stutter like normal, and she hoped that their late night conversation had strengthened their friendship.

Despite that interaction, she felt bone tired. Seeing Chat Blanc in her dreams was like a phantom pain – there was no trace of him in reality, but she acutely felt the hurt. Tikki was always there to listen to her, but almost witnessing the end of the world at the hands of the person she trusted most wasn’t something the kwami had experience with either.

“Marinette?” Tikki asked.

Marinette realized she had been standing in the same spot in her darkened room for a few minutes, staring off into space.

“Sorry, Tikki…I guess I got distracted,” she responded, one side of her mouth quirking up in a smile devoid of any real mirth.

“Are you sure you’re okay? Adrien was right you know…Chat Noir wouldn’t hurt you,” Tikki said in reassurance.

Marinette nodded, half in agreement and half in frustration.

“I know that’s true, Tikki, my Chat wouldn’t but…the Chat in that alternate universe had to have gotten there somehow! I can’t help worrying that I won’t be able to save him if this timeline starts looking like that one,” she trailed off, getting caught in her fears again.

At the sight of new tears glistening in her holder’s eyes, Tikki’s own widened. “Marinette!” she exclaimed in worry, “It’s too late to be worrying like this. Please, get some sleep, and things will look better in the morning.”

Marinette looked gratefully at her kwami, and opened her mouth slightly to thank her. Before she could make a sound, though, the sound of something heavy landing on her balcony made her freeze.

“Hide, Tikki!” she hissed, before grabbing the closest makeshift weapon – a ruler. It definitely wouldn’t hold up against a burglar, but Marinette’s ladybug luck might be enough to scare the intruder away.

As she stood on her bed and rose towards the trapdoor, Chat Noir’s face appeared inches from hers, separated only by a thin panel of glass. Shocked from seeing the object of her worry so unexpectedly, Marinette dropped the ruler, hand over her mouth to muffle her quiet scream, and fell onto her bed.

She stared wide eyed at Chat’s face, and watched his ears droop in sadness. That startled her out of her fear – why did he come to her balcony upset?

She rose again and finally managed to get the trapdoor open. Pulling herself up through the hatch, she asked, “Chat Noir? What are you doing here…?”

Chat seemingly ignored the question, looking away over the railing.

“I scared you again just now, didn’t I?” he asked quietly.

Marinette blinked at him, confused. “Well, yes, because I wasn’t expecting a visitor…and what do you mean by again?”

“So it’s not because you’re frightened of me? Or you don’t like the way I do things?” Chat finally made eye contact with her. Marinette’s heart stuttered in her chest when she caught sight of the real worry that she saw in his eyes, apparent even through the unnatural green glow.

“Chat, what brought this on? I mean, no, of course you don’t frighten me! Why would you…” she paused, realizing suddenly that she had only told one person of her new fear concerning Chat Noir. “Did Adrien…” she trailed off, knowing that she was right at the way Chat startled.

“No!” he yelled. “I mean yes, I saw him, and he said…something about a dream! But it wasn’t his fault, I swear! He just looked really worried and I shouldn’t have pried but-“

“Chat!” Marinette stopped him in a quiet voice. “I…don’t mind that Adrien told you.” She couldn’t really be mad at anything Adrien did, anyways, and it was nice to think that he had been so worried about her that Chat had noticed.

“Why are you afraid of me, Marinette?” Chat asked in a whisper, inching closer to her.

“Chat…” she breathed, paralyzed by her fear of telling him what she was truly afraid of and also by his proximity. “It’s not you I’m afraid of.”

She paused, inhaling sharply and looking down to collect her thoughts. She knew she couldn’t tell him the entire truth, but sharing as much as she could with the object of her worry seemed like the best way to get over the worst of her fear.

“I’m afraid…for you.”

“For me?” Chat asked, incredulous. “Marinette, I’m a superhero. The suits keep us safe, you don’t have to worry!” he assured her, mouth turning up in a soft smile.

“I’m not as worried about you in the suit as I am about you emotionally, kitty,” Marinette finally let out a small laugh, rolling her eyes slightly. She looked back up at Chat, expecting to see him laughing and ready to tease her about her concern. What she saw, though, was a mixture of shock and appreciation in teary eyes.

“Chat?” she asked in worry, rising up softly and moving towards him. “What happened? Did I say something wrong?”

“Wrong? You’re worried you offended me?” Chat let out a small laugh. “No, princess…I’m just flattered…that you care enough to be worried about how I feel.”

Marinette furrowed her eyebrows. “Chat, of course I care about you. That shouldn’t be a surprise right? We’re friends!”

“No, you’re right. I just…don’t have a lot of people in my real life who express that so…thank you.”

Although she knew Chat meant it in an appreciative way, his offhand admission made Marinette’s worry rear its head again. If Chat felt like he had no one, it would be much easier for him to follow Chat Blanc’s path. She knew it wasn’t fair to him or her to try to solve all of his problems just to avoid a possible reality, but she felt compelled to remind him of the one truth that she believed without a doubt.

“Chat Noir…I want you to know that you always have a friend in me. I know I’m just a civilian and you’re a superhero, but you can always come to me if you need anything – reassurance, someone to talk to…anything,” she said firmly, looking him in the eyes.

Chat’s own eyes had been widening slowly during the course of her speech, the green bright against the darkness of the night and his mask. “Marinette,” he said softly, and the sound of his name in that quiet tone reminded her of something just out of reach, “thank you.”

Chat seemed to realize the intimacy of their position and cleared his throat, rising to his knees and moving slightly away. “I really appreciate that…you’re a good friend.” Once again, her mind desperately tried to make a connection that just wasn’t fully there. She couldn’t focus on it, though, because Chat was standing up and preparing to leave.

“And for the record, Marinette…I don’t know exactly why you were so scared about me, but I want you to know that it’s okay. As long as I have my friends, my Lady,” he paused shyly, “…and you, I know nothing can get to me. So don’t worry about me, okay? If I ever need help, I’ll come to you or a friend.”

Chat winked at her at the end of his assurance, and it snapped Marinette back into reality. When had her heart started beating so fast? This was Chat Noir, her partner!

He was leaving though, so she smiled at him and said, “Thanks, Chat Noir. Take care of yourself!”

He grinned. “I already do, princess. It takes a lot of care to keep myself looking this good!” His laugh drowned out her groan of mock annoyance, and with another wink and a leap, he was gone.

Marinette was left blinking in the darkness of the night. Despite feeling emotionally drained, she felt lighter than she had ever since she fixed Chat Blanc’s timeline. Tikki was calling her from inside her room, and she finally felt ready to sink into a dreamless slumber.


End file.
